• April 16-19
  • Columbus, OH
  • Hilton Columbus Downtown
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Session

Color Throughout the Workflow

Tuesday, April 18

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Grand Ballroom

Full Event Schedule

About This Session

To print most efficiently and meet clients’ aesthetic and environmental requirements, final packaging needs to display bright vivid graphics made from the fewest number of print stations. But can this also be the most consistent method?

Join Kevin Bourquin and Jessica Harrell as their presenters answer the following questions:

  • What is the impact of a white base substrate or ink?
  • Is the highest density always the right density?
  • Expanded gamut has been around awhile; is it ready to improve efficiency and will brand colors sacrifice?
  • And finally, how does an LED light source impact visual results on shelf?

This session is ready for any level color guru as we mix new technology, learning and some fun Q&A with a fresh perspective from our speakers.

Presentations & Speakers

FORUM 2023 headshot Kai Lankinen

Expanded Gamut and Eco-Efficiency

Kai Lankinen, Managing Director at Dr. Lankinen Graphic Innovations Ltd

Presentation Details
Efficiency, economy and ecology all go hand in hand with Expanded Gamut (EG). Kai’s presentation includes experience and science-based data about the eco-efficiency of EG printing in flexography. He will deliver experience and science-based facts that everyone would like to know, but has been difficult to get or has not been publicly available.
Speaker Bio
About Kai: Dr. Kai Lankinen has more than 20 years’ experience in package printing. He founded Dr. Lankinen Graphic Innovations Ltd in 2022 to consult international package printers and brand owners to adopt better efficiency and sustainability with EG. He is also a co-owner and former CEO of a leading Nordic repro house (Marvaco Ltd) and founding member of the Global Premedia Network (GPN).
Previously, he was a factory manager at a flexible packaging printing company (Amerplast). He is also a founder member and former chairman of the Finnish Packaging Printing Committee. He published his doctoral thesis “Evaluation of Expanded Gamut Printing in Flexography” in July 2021.
FORUM 2023 headshot Aileen Chiu

Color Management with White Ink

Aileen Chiu, Senior Color Engineer at Sun Chemical

Presentation Details
In package printing, white ink is used to enhance opacity or to produce a desired effect on the design. From the color management point of view, what do we need to understand when using the white ink?
Aileen will discuss the impact of the white ink on opacity and on color gamut. She will also discuss the best practice for quality control when white ink is involved and the proper approach to reach optimal chroma of a color.
Speaker Bio
About Aileen: Aileen Chiu is a senior color engineer with Sun Chemical. As a member of the Global Color Management Team, she supports colleagues around the world in areas from color science, printing workflow and calibrations, data analysis for quality assurance, to standardization and troubleshooting of the color workflow.
Aileen has a B.S. in graphic arts from Chinese Culture University in Taiwan and M.S. degrees in graphic arts publishing and in information technology, both from Rochester Institute of Technology. With “printing” as the foundation of her career, enhanced by her knowledge in information technology, she has a strong focus in color reproduction and in data analysis. She is a certified G7 Professional and a Six Sigma Green Belt.
FORUM 2023 headshot James Summers

The Spectral Explosion: How LED Lighting Is Impacting Color

James Summers, VP at JUST Normlicht

Presentation Details
Virtually everywhere that products are located is being impacted by LED lighting. Learn how your color workflow can and should incorporate ways to visualize how LEDs impact color appearance.
Speaker Bio
About James: James Summers is VP of Just Normlicht and GL Optic for the Americas. The companies design, manufacture and deliver lighting and light measurement tools for color critical applications. James’ background in management, business development, marketing and services spans 40 years in areas including lighting, color management, print processes, content management, software and hardware development, work process optimization and standards.
James has worked for and with companies ranging from Fortune 100s to start-ups across a broad range of industries and application environments. He is a member and advisor to a variety of organizations and received both his M.S. and B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Optimal Method for EG Printing Applications

Charles Spontelli, Associate Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University and William Birkett, Engineer at Doppelganger LLC

Presentation Details
The Optimal Method is a new print calibration technique using tone curves to match an ICC profile. Charles and William will explain how the technique works and its application to expanded gamut (EG) printing. PressCal is a free open-source software tool implementing The Optimal Method. The presenters will explain its features for calibrating EG, and new tools for making test charts and spot color simulations.
Speaker Bios
About Charles: Charles has worked in some facet of the printing industry his entire career. He is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, with a Master of Science from the School of Printing. He is an associate professor emeritus at Bowling Green State University. Charles taught courses in printing technology and color applications.
Charles and William Birkett have collaborated on color calibration for printing research since 2003. William and Charles created the Colorimetric Tone Value which is now Spot Color Tone Value (SCTV), an ISO standard. Their color calibration research has evolved to become “The Optimal Method” for making calibration curves. These curves direct a printing process to optimally match any ICC or proprietary color reference.
About William: William Birkett has engineering degrees from the University of Michigan. After a short stint in the automotive business, he started a prepress company, Precision Color Inc, which prospered for many years. He and a colleague, Charles Spontelli, got involved with print standards in 2003. Together, they developed a press calibration technique based on measurements of near-neutral colors. Since 2005, William has worked as a print quality consultant.
At the TAGA annual meeting in 2018, William and Charles introduced an improved calibration technique known as The Optimal Method. Since then, they’ve developed an open-source software tool, PressCal, to implement this improved technique. William is glad for the opportunity to apply his math and engineering skills to help the printing industry.

Session Chair

FORUM 2023 headshot Kevin Bourquin

Kevin Bourquin

Cyber Graphics

Session Chair

FORUM 2023 headshot Jessica Harrell

Jessica Harrell

SGS & Co

Session Chairs

FORUM 2023 headshot Kevin Bourquin

Kevin Bourquin

Cyber Graphics

FORUM 2023 headshot Jessica Harrell

Jessica Harrell

SGS & Co

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For more than 60 years, FTA has been enabling flexographers to grow their skills, connect with likeminded individuals, expand their reachable market and drive flexography to package printing dominance.

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